ANALYSIS | Of all the political endorsements given in 2008, few are perhaps as memorable as Chuck Norris' endorsement of dark horse candidate Mike Huckabee. The "Huck and Chuck" team helped the little-known ex-governor of Arkansas win the Iowa caucus and score impressive performances in places like South Carolina.
Critics undoubtedly winced at the presence of this "celebrity" with almost no political experience or credentials playing such a pivotal role in the GOP primary. Would actors, kick-boxing Texas Rangers that were household names represent the new trend in highly-publicized coveted endorsements?
Certainly this year Norris found himself in the headlines again, having endorsed Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney countered with support from actor Jon Voight and supermodel Cindy Crawford. Now we're following businessman-turned-television personality Donald Trump's pick of Romney. Are these characters more likely to get attention than politicians who endorse presidential candidates this year?
For some insight, I researched the number of Yahoo search hits for a presidential candidate, the term endorsed, and the particular celebrity or politician to see whose endorsement generates more media buzz.
I found that Chuck Norris endorsing Newt Gingrich resulted in 23,200 hits on Yahoo. Meanwhile, the endorsement of Newt Gingrich by former actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson generated 43,600 Yahoo hits. For Texas Governor Rick Perry's plug of Gingrich, 452,000 Yahoo hits followed. Even though Herman Cain provided the most recent endorsement in the survey, it generated a whopping 1.28 million hits. Sarah Palin's "sort-of" support for the former House Speaker was good for 347,000 hits on Yahoo.
For Mitt Romney, it was a similar story. The endorsement of Jon Voight (and yes Seinfeld fans, I checked the John version too) generated 14,100 hits on Yahoo. Cindy Crawford's support of Romney netted 26,000 hits. On the other hand, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's backing provided 66,100 hits. Defeated rival Jon Huntsman's endorsement of fellow Mormon Romney produced 206,000 hits on Yahoo. When McCain made his selection of the former Bain Capital CEO, it resulted in 387,000 Yahoo hits.
Now not all Romney endorsements made a big splash. Former vice-president Dan Quayle's selection of Romney as the best was only good for 14,300 hits, and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole's endorsement led to 25,200 hits. Former Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell ("I'm not a witch") generated 24,100 hits when she picked Romney. But it is amazing how these three political has-beens get as much attention as the celebrities who want Romney to win.
Nor are the results confined to Yahoo searches. On Google, the Jon Voight endorsement earned 195,000 hits, while the McCain endorsement got as many as 1.83 million Google hits. For Gingrich, the attention paid to his endorsement by Chuck Norris led to 5.83 million Google hits were dwarfed by the excitement generated by the Herman Cain endorsement, which led to 17.1 million Google hits.
The myth of the celebrity endorsement in presidential contests clearly seems to be busted by the results. If you want to generate a lot of buzz, seek the support of an established political figure. Even a politician way past his or her prime can still get as much internet attention as someone better known in Hollywood circles.
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